Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/pride-in-gender-exploration-from-a-queer-educator/5027458/
*Photos can be found in the pdf version of this article.
“Hello Mister Kate,” a girl says with a laugh and a grin, beginning a chorus of “Hello Mister Kate,” as all 14 students in my class laugh at their joke. I smile and laugh too, saying hello back because they do not realize this is more gender-affirming than being called ‘Miss Kate.’ This coupled with comments I have heard from my students that, “You can’t be a girl because you have a penis,” has given me the perfect idea for our daily classroom meeting topic. I want to make the world a safer place for gender nonconforming kids and as a gender nonconforming teacher I have that ability (Feeney et al., 2019). Soon we are all seated around the circle carpet and I begin the meeting with a responsive activity.
“Raise your hand if you are a girl. And raise your hand if you are a boy. Now raise your hand if you’re not a boy and not a girl, but instead are both and neither at the same time.” I raise my hand and the 3- and 4-year-old preschool students stare back at me in confusion. “Are you a girl or ...